Fun Fact: It has a heating spiral in the washer fluid resevoir. So when you want to wash some bugs off your windscreen it does with hot fluid (and works way better)

When I was a teenager I worked extra at a car dealership where the owner had a silver one of these. He wanted it washed almost every day. In the flesh they are massive. Built like a tank. At the time I never understood how expensive and rare it was.

What I really like with JayEmm, is that you don't just get an honest and straightforward car review, you always get a bit of automotive history lesson at the same time.

The W140 chassis had some of the coolest features. 1. Rear mirror (photochromic anti glaze) - adjusted from the console, no need to even raise your hand 2. Double glazed windows - also include obstruction sensors 3. Remotely closed windows from the keyfob (not a luxury feature now, but it was back then) 4. Soft close doors and power-assisted boot (trunk) 5. Pop-out boot (trunk) handle 6. 12-way adjustable seats including memory function 7. Electric retractable side mirrors 8. Electric fold-down rear headrests for better vision when reversing 9. 4 zone climate control with active charcoal filter 10. Electric rear screen blind

+400hp was not "modest" for the period. This was the most powerful car you could actually drive every day! This outpowered the supercharged XJR and XKR, Ferrari 360 Modena, the whole BMW range... if you wanted more power, you'd have to buy a Ferrari 550 which is NOT an everyday car.

The C140 600's grandfather is the Jagdpanther tankdestroyer of WW2; stramlined looks, large gasoline V12 and high maintainance 🙂

If I had the spare cash and somewhere to park it, I'd snap this up in an instant. I've always fancied luxury cars more than fast cars, and in particular, I've always wanted an S-class - a long wheelbase saloon, preferably. But I'm also very tempted by the coupe. This is exactly the kind of car I love most.

The "small fan thats broken" will be the aspirator motor in the overhead console. It draws air in to sample the temperature for the climate control to make sure it's getting an accurate reading of cabin temp. About £40 from the dealer and 5 min to replace.

Reminds me of my neighbour who was a hi-fi fanatic and was unable to truly enjoy anything he listened to as he was always overly-attuned to every little imperfection - like going to a classical music concert surrounded by people eating popcorn.

These are the videos I love best - older, niche, affordable future calssics. There is definitely something about the old luxury barges.

Thanks James. I remember a very old video in which J Clarkson said you can buy a cottage for the price of one of these which was around 90k. Just imagine how much the cottage is today.

I had a '93 600SEC (the ONLY year it was called the 600SEC - it was renamed CL600 in 1994). Bought it with less than 40k miles on it. Absolute mint condition. Paid $13,500. New it was $135k. It depreciated 90% by the time I bought it. That's about $3 per MILE of depreciation from the time it was new until I bought it from the original owner. I like to think of it this way... Gas was about $3/gallon back then, so every 300 or so miles when the original owner filled the fuel tank, he'd spend about $60 for gas and $900 in depreciation!!!! Cost him nearly a grand every time he opened the fuel cap.

My favourite ever Mercedes is the C140. I saw one as a kid with those huge doors and ever since I've been hooked.

This car was huge. When these came out I had a 560 SEC, a gorgeous car, and a friend had got one of these monsters. He'd traded up from a 560 SEC. He regretted it constantly. As these cars were so tech filled anything that could go wrong would. He soon sold it. After owning the 560 for over 10 years, I traded up to the CL55 coupe. A beautiful car inside and lovely to drive and look at, not like this car, until one day...I didn't drive it for a few days and came out to get in and couldn't open the power close doors. The new battery was flat. Put a new one in, under warranty, and the same thing happened again. The MB dealer had it on and off for weeks. Could never find the fault. Told me the drivers door memory switch was the fault, $2k later the problem was still there. Then the suspension started to fail. Replaced the pump, another 3k, only to find I'd started a chain reaction. Now the car would be down on its haunches when I'd go to get in it. Have to hit the suspension lift switch. Was told that the suspension shocks were leaking. If you replaced one the others would then fail as they were older, so you had to do all 4 corners. At $6k each!!. The new E class was just out. I traded in a fast as I could. These old MBs are too expensive to maintain. A bit like my Ferrari 575. But at least it holds its value and is a real joy to own and drive. As always, a great review.

Wow I remember when I was one of your 30k subs, now approaching 200k !! Good work lad, in a car industry thats losing its soul, seeing cars we grew up wanting really makes this the best car channel on the internet 👍

My dad had 1 in Florida from 98 to 2012 , beautiful engine lovely to cruise 🚢 long distance

I love this style of car reviews, it brings me back the the very best of top gear before it was all about blowing stuff up 👌

I worked at Mercedes-Benz when we made these. The problem was always the styling, which did not attract the buyers who had loved the previous C126 coupe. It was hard to sell, even when new, but was packed with technology and if you find one with full service history and careful ownership, they are quite amazing. I would definitely recommend an inspection by a Mercedes dealer or specialist before purchase.

I like this generation of CL. One of the lecturer in my university has one. Every time I went home and see that black CL600 parked I do feel a tinge of jealousy and admiration.

Remember in 95 there was a black s 600 coupe in my town and everytime i saw it i took a good look around it. It was my dreamcar at that time.

Absolutely awesome 👌🏻 What a stunner. It’s great to see these big luxury executive saloons still being driven. I really do love it and always feel great when I see something like this out on the road. Thanks for showing us these big classics 😉👍🏻

In Q4 1999 51 W140CL were still road registered in the UK. There can't be many left!

As always well composed and narrated review. Thanks!

I drove a couple of these back in the day and loved the smoothness and effortless acceleration. I remember the original TG review where JC compares this car with a countryside cottage and both cost the same at the time. Amazing.

Excellent and accurate review. These have very solid powertrains, though their general complexity and parts pricing does make them expensive to maintain. People who didn’t care for them and let them deteriorate but still limp along have certainly made it a costly undertaking to restore the cars. With that said, every late model C140 CL600 is worth saving if it’s not excessively rusty or crashed. My W140 S500 has been a costly car to maintain, not because of the powertrain but rather everything else. However, I love the big, smooth, stable, over-engineered land yacht feeling it gives to drive. It’s pretty shocking that someone was able to buy this for 3k GBP, even with some issues. I guess that dealers in dealer auctions don’t want to deal with these. In Canada, a 1998 CL600 in the decent but imperfect condition you drove would be worth around $15-20k CAD in private sale.

Watching this, I immediately wanted to buy one - again!

I have 1997 W140 S600 and I daily drive it to and from work. The car is great but it has its fair share of problems as well. I do work and do all of its maintenance as well. When I do drive this, it puts a big smile in my face and I feel like "El Presidente". Take care.

Amwesome. Love that your constantly buying all the cars I have in the states. Great content as always

I have always been a fan of the 140. Fun video. I like seeing the Countryside. Beautiful area. I live in Denver. Driving in the mountains is a treat and the scenery will take your breath away. Cheers!!!

Fun presentation, a real JayEmm on Coupés with an imposing member of Das Haus! It's great you could and still can buy a V12 for those inspired to own and drive one. Thank you.

Stunning!!

These cars have absolutely SUPERB build quality. Things aren't going to break when properly maintained. Of course it's 25 years old and you have to put some new stuff every now and then but the only really costly part is the air suspension if it goes bad. But even that isn't terrible as there are good alternatives for replacement. Amazing car, very good video again. Thanks.

I have one of these w140 S600 same colour as the one your driving i have every receipt and service inspection from when it was bought new 25 years old and it drives like a dream with an immaculate interior, Beautiful car.

Interesting.... It is a model that I have liked and I have never seen a nice one for less than £5,000... Thanks for being dead straight about the cost of maintenance being very high. Top review... 👍👍👍

I ran the saloon version of this car (600SEL) for some 16 years and boy, whilst being fabulous cars they are VERY expensive to maintain. Fuel consumption is between 11 & 19mpg and the V12 engine will almost certainly require the timing chain and guides replacing between 90,000 - 100,000 miles. Service items are expensive, 6 lites of engine oil for an oil change, 12 spark plugs (the very rear ones being a nightmare to access) and 2 air filters (it has 2 throttle bodies!) Engine wiring harnesses disintegrate meaning a trip to the MB dealersip (a new one has to be hand made (££££££££) at the MB factory as they are not stock items) and throttle body wiring also self destructs. The dreaded N10 multi function relay is also problematic leading to ASR & SRS problems. Rear hydraulic accumulators leak/puncture requiring replacement and the associated hydraulic pipework is troublesome. Front coil springs fracture regularly and brake discs/pads require frequent replacing. Fantastic cars to drive though, just dont EVER think you can run one on a tight budget - because you cant.

have always loved these since the day they came out. Gotta be one of Europe's chunkiest ever 2 doors.

I know as an ex Pom living in Western Australia, the reason cars deprecate so fast in the UK is they rust like crazy !

The "fluid suspension" in the 90's S Class and this coupe is actually a reverse engineered version of Citroen's Hydractive system. Because unlike Rolls Royce/Bentley who licensed the system from Citroen, Mercedes "coincidentally" made a system using the same fluid, same spheres (they're even green just like the Citroen ones), and in general the exact same functionality, and paid no royalties to Citroen. Except the fact Mercs didn't have selectable ride height like Citroens did (but neither did Rolls Royce/Bentley).

My dad has a 94 sl 600 and here in New Zealand I have full cover on it for $450 nzd a year and I’m 21. You guys in England really get shafted for young drivers with big engines

My favorite era of Mercedes-Benz. I used to own an E Class from this era. It was a tank and I wish Merc was still up to this standard. Good video Jay on to the next one bloke. (:

Great car . She's built like a tank and is an absolute beauty mate ! Even after so many years this thing has an awesome presence. I'd snatch one up in a jiffy if I could find one , cool !!!

Loved this model since I was a teen in the 90’s…. I still want one

That generation Mercedes,W140/C140 were the absolute peak of engineering. Any model after that was just going downhill. Some might argue,but even every next model was technically more advanced,from engineering pov it couldn't come even close to that family. And I say that as non Mercedes fan. I just appreciate and recognise quality when I see one.

Perhaps the ultimate car of the year of my birth, 1995. It is certainly a strong candidate for my future weekend car, one to save, maintain and enjoy for decades to come.

Perfectly timed video, James. Currently hunting the right C140 600 here in the US.

Your reviews remind me of the best ones from old Top Gear. Actually about the car and what it's like to drive it without too much theatrics.

I had a CL420, bought for 2000 euro. Never enjoyed the steering feel as if was far too light, but may have been due to the speed sensitive power steering not operating as it should. Obviously difficult to compare two back to back give their rarity. The next owner eventually sold it for 10k after it being advertised for nearly 4 years. Glad to have had the experience but it was a case of 'never met your heroes'. I'm happier with my C126 and was in awe of a C216 I had for a short while, another magnificent beast

As an American I always have envied Great Britain's used car prices (even given our global situation), it's still crazy you can get a decent quirky older car for ~£3000, even taking conversion rates into account.

Back in the day, I bought an S600 140 when it was 1 year old with 40k kilometers for 40% of its new price, in Switzerland, was told by the Swiss Merc dealer who maintained it, the 12 cyl engine was a sealed unit guaranteed by Mercedes for 300k kilometers. One bank of 6 cylinders had electronically controlled acceleration, the other bank of 6 cylinders had mechanical control, so electrical. problems would allow a 6 cyl limp home mode of 200bhp. Even at just over 1 year old, the main dealer service and maintenance costs were over £7k equivalent a year and insurance was the same (no long warranties back then). When it came out of the company leasing I hit it over the head with a shovel, because of its running and insurance costs at nearly £20k a year. Beware of the eye watering costs, these have great build quality but it’s like a swiss watch.

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl had a W140 and absolutely loved it.

God I love this channel Jay you're a pleasure 🙏 thank you

We used to have a 96 S500 coupe that had the same color/wheel combo. I still remember it as the “best car” ever made.

I love how there's enough room & luxury to have a grab-handle even for the rear passengers.

Commendable that you give a realistic picture of what ownership of a car like the CL is. These days, luckily, I don't see as many articles anymore naming dream cars or high end luxury cars you can buy for the price of a golf or focus. I always thought those articles only encouraged unhappy situations: cars that suffer poor maintenance because of owners trying to save costs and owners that get disillusioned because the experience isn't what they expected.

Awesome car. Saw a few of the later generations available for sale in my country but the running costs are way too high for me. They truly are imperious as you. Fantastic video production. Keep up the good work.

Oh yeah been waiting for this

M120 is an engine I’ll never forget. The way the power is delivered, the ultimate pace. 408hp/420lbs/ft (slightly lower rating here in the states) felt like it was at the wheels.

Nice review. I am still a fan of this big Coupe.

I really love this model! I had one and it is my biggest regret selling it. The brakes are actually good, but they will only work the way they were intented with genuine Mercedes components, unfortunaly.

Veeery nice video.Im a huge MB fan,and i also do alot of MB stuff on my channel.But a little correction to the "CL vs/ Sec." thing..is that this is still an S class coupe..aka SEC.The reason for Mercedes Benz changing it to CL..is that Mercedes changed the model designations to suit their new nommenklature. The same happend for instance,to the w124 series.In 1994..they started using these prefixes like E klass,,, S klass etc,in a different way. For an example, the w124 500e became the e500:And the "e" in the "500e", does not say that it was an E klass(the E in the ending of the 500,stands for Einspritzung, not E class :) The cool thing with the updated version (from 1996),is that alof of the engine electrics changed.They went from distributor, ignitionmodule engine electronics,,to feature coil on plug setup,which is far more reliable and durable.What is eternaly important on these era Mercedes is to check all the engine wiring harness,especially on the 1991-1996 year cars.Also throttle bodies is a high risk area,especially on a v12 where there is two throttle bodies,two MAF sensors, etc etc.It can quickly become a diagnostic disaster if you do not what you are getting into with a car like this :) I know..cause i am a Car/ diagnostic technician :) Eitherway,Lovely video,and lovely channel:)Greetings from Norway,Stefan

Brilliant video matey, had 3 of these over the years, bought all off them very cheaply one was a dutchalet and carat, which allegedly cost 120000 when new in 1994, also had a few of the saloons and some r129 sl,s , not being flash everything was in the trade and keenly priced, but my point is most were 5 speed automatic,s and I never had any trouble at all, in fact I always used it as a positive when it was time to move them on. The electrical gremlins did catch me a few times ,very expensive to repair anything on the blower systems, entire dashboard out jobs, very time consuming and very expensive if you could find someone to even take the job on. After a while you become more casual about having a car were everything works , the odd warning light on here or there or a switch the didn't do anything anymore ,never really detracted from driving about in these things, just great car's.

The car really is gorgeous, I would throw some nice paint-matched 2 pieces just like effspot.

Good video info. I’ve had my 1996 S600 Coupe V12 approx15 yrs , your right they need proper servicing which makes the car A joy to drive. My car has done 145K miles and drives like new , the V12 engine and gearbox are bomb proof , no clunking From gearbox and engine is quiet, again your right there are gremlins but I normally get them sorted straight away making An affordable classic car to run but don’t be fooled some gremlins can get expensive. Yes the are cheap to buy but my advice Would be do your homework, Another thing to look out for is front and rear windscreens they are prone to moisture around the edge Of the glass which is a white misty colour, I replaced mine front and rear, the reason I spend money on it because it’s a great car to Drive and good examples looked after are very rare to find which in time values will rise and as for mine everything works which possibly One of the best in time ,

Love that old Mercedes-Benz 😍

Nice I have it's Saloon Sibling but with the less exciting engine as a Daily. Love it super reliable although parts like wiper motors and trim almost impossible to get in the UK. Genuine Spings hard to come by especially as they varied to customers specs. HnR lowering springs (not that I want the car lower) are looking like my best solution. Merc appear to be rapidly abandoning their parts backup for prw 2000 cars. Wipers are an odd fitment as well so don't expect unless the arms have been modified or ground down to slot on standard blades. Clean out the scuttle panel and heater box as the blower fans seize through water ingress and lack of use and the wiper linkages fail for similar reasons. Also boot leaks around the lower trim and on the saloon reflector can give you a nice puddle. Rot other than inner arch lips no big issue. Exhaust mounts let go but exhausts and cats are very very durable. Window seals fail and window sill trims shrink giving wind noise also doors and those heavy double glazed windows drop causing wind noise as do the door hinges (all above can be adjusted out unless too far gone. Dash lights especially for the HVAC and vents fail but no major issue Sounds bad but none of the above is super expensive if and a big if you can find the parts.

I owned one of these for six months - had a drink problem that made Keith Richard’s look sober ! And the electrics made me want an RAC Van following me ! But I loved it !

Fantastic review James , as always !! I came extremely close to buying one a CL 600 as my first " mid-life crisis " car . The car drove beautifully , I remember it had such charisma and presence . The salesman was very keen to start the paperwork , I asked to view the car on a lift and he really started sweating , upon inspection ,it was dripping every fluid known to man and the exhaust had been welded with some type of foam filler !!! .Naturally , I walked away and soon after bought a 2004 Pontiac GTO ( Vauxhall Monaro ) , with headers and a sports exhaust which ticked all the boxes :) I would love to see you review one of those , I imagine you would enjoy it very much ! .

Magnificent! The 126 was a hard act to follow and the initial reaction was not good, however with the passage of time it's now viewed differently. I feel the interior has dated very well and is perfect Mercedes classic design.

Have a little cry when the biodegradable engine wiring harness disintegrates on earlier 600s, as I've read they're not available anymore.

thank you.... it was my dream car. There was one in switzerland last year. was like new. 20"000 CHF. but i was not in position to buy at all. life sucks sometimes. hope to find a perfect one one day.

That V12 sounds super smooooth.

What a beautiful old barge 💙

Thanks James, a lovely contender for my virtual garage. Yes, potentially expensive to repair but what a huge amount of car for the money. In fact I've just seen a '95 500 Coupe for £12k... tempting, but I'm very attached to my Baby Benz 190..

I owned many S-Class MBs. The 140 series was my favorite, way better than the ones who came after the 140. Reliability and quality went way downhill after the 140. I wouldn't even consider buying the latest one.

I believe the early ones had power operated inside rearview mirror. But people kept breaking them

My W140 also thinks it's 58c outside in the middle of winter and has done for many years now.

I've got a 400 SE W140 92 reg. and a S 500 C140 94 reg. They're just the best two cars I ever have, and believe me, I had many.

These look much better in the flesh. For some reason photos never seem to do this one justice. Really nicely proportioned.

Want it! Love your Mercedes content!

Hope you can get a first gen CLS to review; would love to hear your thoughts on it

I had an almandine red CL420 with mushroom leather and it was probably the nicest car to drive I have ever had. Even that engine struggled to do 20mpg given the weight of the car so I sold it but I seriously regret that now... Some years have biodegradable wiring loom insulation which as you might have guessed is not great after 20 years so replacing engine bay looms is sometimes necessary, as is the vacuum pump for the soft close doors and boot - these can be rebuilt for not too much money. Lack of use will be bad news for the air con and electric windows etc. Some late 90s Mercs did rust badly so watch for that too. Overall no question that these were better built than the W220s that replaced them but the latter had the economical 320 diesel and the faster AMG models so sold well.

These are worth big money in the states!!!

I the SEL 600 ran it for 3 years and sold it for just £ 500 less than I brought it for. At traffic lights it would take off really well leaving the boy racers wondering what the he'll was under the bonnet. I remember booting it on the motorway and it changing up at 138mph. They were limited to 150mph. Not a slow car and it did it all with ease.

Great video, my daily driver is a Bentley T2 (Rolls shadow 2). I could not find a new car with a budget of £40k ish that had a soft ride and without the stupid privacy glass etc. I reckon that the depreciation of a new car purchased today on my budget will offset the purchase price of my T2 within 2 years, all I have to do is keep putting petrol in it but as it is over 40 years old there is no road tax and the insurance is cheap.

My brother's S320 was a roly poly tank. Kinda fun to punt along at high speed. Terrifying on back roads.

Had 2 W140 S-classes, a coupe (officially C140) and a saloon. Both 5 litre V8, so never experienced the V12-ness, but he's right they are imperious. Had loads of XJ's and the S-classes ride quality is far better. The smoothest cars I've ever owned and picked up both for ridiculously low prices, £950 for the coupe and £1500 for the saloon. Great days, sadly never to be repeated, but thank goodness I had the chance to own and drive such wonderful machines.

Man what a great buy, a maintenance history and and knowledgeable inspection and you would have a great car. After all, WHO among US wouldn't want a V12 in their lives at least once, and being in the European theater, you have knowledgeable people, and I assume parts availability.

I have been ADDICTED to Mercedes Benz in my life.

This car is great and handles fantastic if you are competent and know how to steer and break. Take driver training for security staff and you will see what these cars a really capable of.

Couldn't work out how you could think this was a good looking car until I saw your end credits.

Enjoyable content and I much prefer the less edgy, laid back delivery 👍🏻

The best thing about over these over engined barges is their effortless ability to do a good rolling burnout, in comfort👍

The electric adjustable rear view mirror on these if not broken is just too cool, not sure if any other car ever had that.

The Bruno Sacco era I love the w140 and w126 s560 sec euro spec

The buzzing noise you’re hearing is a small climate control fan located in the ceiling light pod. All you need to do is pop the unit out, carefully disassemble the brittle plastic parts, and simply clean and lubricate the impeller. Takes 10 minutes.

THE BMW 850i must be a strong competitor. Also it looks so much cooler.

Good introduction .,

Not sure if these used a ZF 5HP box as there was always a bit of an odd tie up between Merc & ZF on auto boxes back then but the 5HP was "filled for life" & therefore didn't have a service schedule. Unfortunately there is no such thing & a few hundered quid on a fluid & filter change is a sensible precaution on a transmission that costs many thousands to replace! Always liked these.

Yes I’ve seen them throughout SE Asia at very reasonable prices, but of course the condition varies. I’ve lived here many years.

What a BEAST